Program Start Date and Materials

Hey FB
*We are working very hard on finalising the Getting Started Guide to make sure it is crystal clear and bug free
- Release of the materials with Labs 1 to 10 will be end November
- Following this (likely Q1'21) there will be online video tutorials and a One Day Workshop series
- The Introduction to SoC Design (Masters level) Course is due for release in March, followed by a further 10 Labs for RVfpga in Q3'21
 
*Access to the materials will be via this website.
The steps to do this are:
- Log In
- Request the Materials by accepting the online Licence Agreement and giving a few details about your planned use
- We then look at your request and Authorise/Deny/Ask for more Info
- If approved you get a time-limited download link to download the complete .Zip file which contains all the materials
 
*More details will be published at online events starting with the RISC-V Summit (online) in December
There is already the presentation of Sarah Harris and Daniel CHaver-Martinez from the RISC-V Global Forum in September online here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrbIvDLa61Q&list=PL85jopFZCnbNDtFbl72oU0_8vANrljnh7&index=31

*Info Sheet attached 

Please be patient - the initial package is more than a Semester's worth of teaching materials. There's a lot to check!
Once the basics are absolutely right, it gets much easier to develop more materials.
- By the end of next year, the total body of materials will be 3 Semesters long (!)

Best regards,

Robert Owen

Thanks for your detailed response, Mr. Owen (Robert)! I've watched the presentation and downloaded the info sheet.

Is the Getting Started Guide going to be released before the end of November and the December summit?

It seems to me like a wait-and-see until the December summit is the best course of action, for now. Is that right?

@rcwo  I've seen on digilent site that Nexys A7 board is currently unavailable. However, there is available "Nexys Video Artix-7 FPGA board" at academic price of $287.40. This board could replace Nexys A7 in RVFPGA labs? I see Nexys Video has more resources than Nexys A7. However Nexys Video has also an FMC connector which needs an adaptor, I guess.

Alexandru

- There is stock at Farnell (Element 14) and at Rapid Electronics
- You need Nexys A7 with -100T Artix 7 FPGA
- The previous model: Nexys 4 DDR is also suitable. They are available on eBay
- I'm sure that Digilent will be back in stock soon.
We are not familiar with the A7 video board.
- To be honest, we are very busy verifying everything on the chosen platform, we don't have time to consider others at the moment.

The beta-test is almost complete, and we are on track to release on 30th November.

Best wishes,

Robert Owen

@rcwo Dear Mr. Robert Owen,

Thank you very much for the answer.  

Alexandru

@rcwo

Really happy to hear this, looking forward to getting involved!

Thanks for all the effort,

Aleksandar

@rcwo I know you guys were hoping to get started on November 30. Where should I look for updates about when the program/course is starting?

@fuzzybear3965

Dear FB,

We are pleased to let you know that RVfpga: Understanding Computer Architecture is now being released.

Please follow these instructions to download the RVfpga package:

1. Visit the Imagination University Programme (IUP) Download Resource Page:  https://university.imgtec.com/teaching-download/
2. Login with your IUP Account. (Please register with IUP if you don't already have an account)
3. Scroll down to the “RVfpga: Understanding Computer Architecture” section. Choose which language you prefer.
4. Click on the desired language and then select the “Teaching materials” option in the menu.
5. View and Agree to the License Agreement, and complete the Intended Use Form.
6. The IUP Team will receive the download request and approve the request within 72 hours.
7. Once it is approved, you will receive a separate email with the download link for the RVfpga package.

@guanyang.he I've done it! Thanks for the clear instructions! Now, I wait 72 hours :).